Biden was right then, and he's right now.
Assault weapons have zero place in civilian society. If you want one, that's a red flag right there. Join the military if you want to use military style weapons.
Open carry laws need to go. Open carry is for intimidating others. It's legalizing terrorism. Want to carry openly? Go through training and become Law enforcement. Or, join the military.
Concealed carry is equally as problematic. Outside law enforcement, who *needs* to carry firearms? Two of my oldest friends married guys who went into law enforcement. They're always armed, bit they're trained. Neither is flashy, showy or gun-nutty about them. It's required for their jobs.
All the firearms in the world are useless without ammunition. Jack the tax on bullets and ammunition way up, and control the sale of ammo. If the Carolinas and other states can still keep liquor sales confined to ABC stores, and prohibit liquor sales on Sundays, then we can do the same with ammunition.
Register guns, just like drivers, just like cars, just like voters. I have a right to vote, yet I have to prove I'm eligible and submit documentation to register to exercise that right. If I move, I have to reregister. Registration does not lead to confiscation, despite what the Ammosexuals fear monger about.
Require gun insurance. I can buy a car but I have to register it to be able to drive it, and I have to have a license to drive it, and insurance, in the event of an accident causing physical or property damage. Homes with pools, or certain kinds of dogs pay higher insurance rates. Homes with firearms are more dangerous than those without firearms.
Never mind the whole Well regulated Militia clause. This ideas that firearms are the only right that comes without any responsibility is absurd. The history of the 2nd amendment and why it was added and for which states to secure their participation in the new government IS important. These people want to keep and bear arms? Great. We've got well regulated militias in every state and territory and they are free to join up. Want to keep military style weaponry at home? No. Keep it at the armory. Need that AR-15 right now after hours? that's probably why you don't need a gun.
If you can't "keep your family safe" (from what? They never say safe from what, or whom...) from a home intruder with a shotgun, then you probably aren't going to hit the intruder with the AR, either.
I grew up in an LA suburb sandwiched between East LA and Compton/Lynwood/South Central. Went all over LA, Long Beach, some skeevy neighborhoods. Lived in the Bay Area for 20+ years, and spent plenty of time in the neighborhoods around Candlestick Park, the East side of San Jose, Castroville and North Monterey Co., even trips into Oakland. Never in my life have I seen so many gun nuts as I have in the seven years I've been in Western North Carolina. Gun Culture is a very different thing. But it's not the avid hunters I worry about. It's not the veterans I worry about. It's the gun lovers who don't hunt, who've never served in any capacity, who will "do whatever it takes" "to protect my family" from nebulous Others. It's the people who just want to be able to shoot other people out of fear that worry me most.
Australia proved that all of our dithering hides that our politicians love gun manufacturers money more than actual American babies. That the GOP is allowed to claim they are pro life when every policy they support shortens life and supports murder.
Act Now, Joe. Act Big. Act Bold. And when they threaten you and your supporters with gunplay, arrest them with the power of the new laws.
We don't need guns. We need health care and education. We need empathy and compassion from the top down. Go Joe.
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